Want to get out of the warm comforter warding off the cold and see the skies full of colorful kites?
Want to enjoy the multiple shades of colors as little boys and girls run around playing while people serve the special delicacies?
Be joyous because the Government of Punjab has finally announced the dates for the most awaited festival of the year Basant, which will fall from February 21st to March 5th.
Hamza Sharif had mentioned this earlier in the Punjab Youth Festival and Bilawal Bhutto also stressed upon its celebrations in the upcoming Sindh Festival. In Lahore, the celebrations will be limited to the green Changa Manga forests.
But that isn’t so bad because it will be almost two long weeks full of fun and frolic.
The core element of Basant, kite-flying will however be restricted to certain areas because of some previous tragic events which caused the activity to be shunned completely. The people needn’t worry now because the provincial government will make sure that that all the precautionary measures are taken.
The onset of spring marks the beginning of the Basant festive and while some call it “Jashn-e-Baharan”, it is all the same: the joyful celebrations of flowers blooming everywhere.
Let’s take a look at what Basant has in store for all of us:
Basant and Brands
Now when we all are busy in having fun, why mustn’t the brands make the most of it? Oh yes! there are so many of them who wait for the festival to bring out something new.
All Pakistanis are “chaye rasyas” are we not?
None of us can ever say no to a steaming cup of tea. Don’t you all remember the Lipton ads that were made especially for Basant? No doubt that tea and the Basant festival go hand in hand together.
Basant is synonymous with colors and when it comes to colors, how can we even ignore the ever growing clothing lines?
The youth would be up on their toes to get their shopping done with vibrancy bouncing all around them, as they adorn themselves in lively shades of Yellow and Pink.
Be ready, for the clothing lines would be waiting in line to surprise you with their Spring Collections.
Basant always comes making a shout-out to all the music stored for it: Concerts. We always see brands like Coca Cola and Pepsi make sure to bring out concerts that feature our favourite artists.
The Media Celebrations
There was a time when the viewers would actually wait for the basant to begin so that the event would bring them endless special Basant Transmissions which had musical shows, dramas, cooking shows, in short anything and everything about basant.
With the trend of transmissions fading away slowly we have something grand to replace that: The Morning Shows.
What would be better than to be greeted in the morning by an energetic host, all ready to celebrate the special moments of basant with the viewers and the guest artists? The beautiful flower decorations and the buoyancy would be just everywhere in the air.
There would be special songs aired on the occasion with all your favourite films to be offered by one channel or the other.
The Places to Go
When the whole surrounding is laden with freshness why not step out in the sun and go out places?
During basant, restaurants offer special variety and the ambience is different too and there is soothing smell of flowers everywhere.
Amusement Parks always have one or another Flower Exhibitions and it is the perfect time for a family get-together with the fun rides, music and shows.
Even the academic institutions do not lag behind to celebrate this event and schools, colleges and universities all embark on the journey to make Basant memorable as musical shows are held and offerings are promoted.
So this Basant, make the most of it and plan your weeks accordingly because spring is one season which we all want to welcome with open arms.
